December 3, 2008

For some reason, German chocolate cake doesn't really excite me. I love both coconut and chocolate, so what's my deal? I wish I knew.

One of our Thanksgiving desserts was an upside-down German chocolate cake, expertly-made by my dear grandma. This is not to be confused with the inside-out German chocolate cake, which is different (but no less decadent), with multiple layers of coconut-pecan filling and a chocolate ganache. This upside-down version is simply and magically composed of pecans and coconut on the bottom of a frosting-less chocolate cake, speckled with blobs of cream cheese goodness (see below).

It was a big hit with my family (after all, you saw that behemoth box of chocolates we attacked). You and yours might like it, too.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch pan.Scatter the coconut and pecans around the bottom of the pan. Prepare the cake mix according to directions on box and pour the batter over the nuts and coconut. Mix cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until well-blended and drop by spoonfuls onto the top of the cake. Bake for 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

I think your problem with German chocolate cake may be that it's too sweet. I need a little "less sweet" on top of my sweet (or vice versa) in order to just love it! Well, it's pretty, but I'm still going to attack that big ol' box of chocolates when I find it!

cakes made by grandmas are always better. i am pretty sure you get magical baking powers once you become one. i'm allergic to coconut, though, so i'd stick with apple pie, too. but this looks delicious... albeit deadly for me ;)

I have seen recipes similiar to that around for the last few years and have been very interested in trying it out. I am a big coconut lover, so I will pretty much take the stuff anyway I can get it. I am known to eat half a bag of it just for fun! hahaha